A cat's owner has hit out at the "cruel" people who shot his pet in the leg

Taz, a two-year-old black-and-white tomcat, was out in the Millfields Way area of Haverhill between 2pm and 3pm on Sunday, October 30, when the incident took place.

His owner, who was looking after the cat on behalf of his three-year-old nephew, had only had Taz in the house two weeks.

Sunday was the very first time the pet had been allowed outside.

His owner, who did not wish to be named, said: “He was fine for about three hours and I called him in to be fed. He was eating his meal and there was blood dripping on the floor.”

Taz's injuries after being shot with an air gun

“We had to rush him to the vet’s immediately. He was bleeding quite quickly and we started to panic.

“They had to take him straight in to operate.”

It was only after the vet removed a lead pellet the size of a thumbnail from Taz’s leg that his owner learned he had been shot.

Police believe an air rifle may have been used, and Taz’s owner said he believed the shooter must have been quite close, as the injury went right through the cat’s leg to his hip.

The air gun pellet found in Taz's leg

“I did have tears in my eyes,” he said about the moment the vet told him what had happened. “It was my cat but not my cat - it was my little nephew’s cat, and he is only three years old. That hurt me quite a bit.”

Taz is now recovering, but it will take about a month until he is back to full strength.

He is wearing a collar to prevent him from biting the wound and will not be allowed outside for four weeks.

His owner said that when he was taken outside to go to the vet’s after the incident, Taz panicked.